Gov. Tom Wolf isn’t ready to schedule the reopening of Pennsylvania’s economy, after vetoing bills which would have partly rolled back his anti-coronavirus measures.

On Thursday, the Democrat discussed his decision to veto two bills passed by the Republican-controlled Legislature this week.

“I have been considering when we can end this phase from the time that I put it into place. That has not ceased. What I haven’t done is come up with a certain date yet,” Wolf said.

The bills Wolf vetoed would have rolled back his executive orders closing nonessential businesses. Republicans proposed allowing some workers to return if they were considered essential under guidance from the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. Businesses would still have to comply with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s guidance for preventing the spread of COVID-19.

While some models suggest the number of COVID-19 patients in Pennsylvania has peaked, Wolf said it’s still too early to reopen the economy.

“It’s devastating the economy no doubt about it. But letting this virus overwhelm the health care system and the ability of Pennsylvanians to resist it would be even worse for the economy,” Wolf said.

Wolf has pledged to work with five other Northeast governors, all Democrats, to coordinate efforts to reopen businesses.

Wolf said before businesses reopen it’s important to assure workers and customers that they won’t be exposed to COVID-19.

He pointed to the Cargill meat plant near Hazleton, which was not shut down under his order, but temporarily closed last week due to COVID-19.

“Cargill closed a big distribution center in the northeast because they just weren’t able to get employees to come to work,” Wolf said.

Wolf said testing must become more widely available to restore that confidence. But he said there are still shortages nationwide.

“If we can’t get the test kits, we’re going to have real problems meeting the needs of citizens who can be confident that they can go to places, they can go back out. It’s been a problem since the beginning,” he said.

Wolf said he wasn’t aware that people plan to protest against his business closures on Monday outside the state capitol. He said that by ignoring social distancing guidelines they could risk exposing themselves to the virus.

“I’m sorry they’re doing it, but the harm is basically to themselves and to each other,” he said.

Enough supplies

Thursday was estimated to be the peak demand for hospital-related care according to the University of Washington model. The model now says Pennsylvania will meet the demand for ICU beds and ventilators. The model is based on social distancing measures staying in place for the time being.

Wolf said he hasn’t had to use another order which allows him to shift medical equipment between hospitals around the state if needed.

He said his administration spent the $50 million approved by the state Legislature last month to purchase medical equipment and supplies for hospitals, nursing homes and emergency workers.

Prisoner release

Wolf discussed his plan to reduce some inmates from state prisons in an effort to limit the virus spread there.

Wolf said the inmates chosen for release have been people with nonviolent records who are already close to their release dates.

He said some older inmates are also going through the pardon process laid out in the state constitution.

Each inmate has been reviewed by the prosecutor and judge who handled their case.

“Working with local officials who have a better sense than anybody as well as prison officials who have a good sense as well, looking at those who were on the verge of being released anyway,” he said.

So far there are only 19 positive cases of coronavirus among state inmates, all at SCI-Phoenix near Philadelphia.

A record number of Pennsylvanians out of work due to coronavirus have overwhelmed the state’s unemployment compensation system.

Wolf said they have added more employees to its call center and mail room and has invested in improving the online system. But he said there is more work to be done.

“We acknowledge that we’re not where we need to be. The wait time is entirely too long to get through to a call center person. We’ll work on that too so there’s virtually no wait time,” he said.